FESPA Open House at Cactus Imaging draws in the industry

Above: Rob Brussolo (Ball & Doggett), Kai Hennig (Carr Group), Nigel Spicer (Cactus Imaging), Glen Mackellin (HVG Graphics), Glenn Moffatt (Cactus Imaging)

The FESPA Australia Open House event, hosted by grand format printing company Cactus Imaging, certainly drew in the industry, with almost 120 industry professionals attending.

The event provided the perfect platform for attendees to have a sneak peek at the recently-launched Durst 10-channel P5 350 HS D4 hybrid press, the first of its kind installed in the southern hemisphere.

In addition, attendees were also able to immerse themselves in other one-on-one demonstrations of the vast equipment housed at Cactus Imaging’s Silverwater premises in western Sydney.

Cactus Imaging general manager of operations Keith Ferrel kicked off the event by welcoming the industry.

“We’re pretty proud of what we’ve achieved here, and of what we’ve got – and we’re happy to share it with you,” he said.

Cactus Imaging general manager Nigel Spicer thanked those in attendance, saying, “It’s good to have so many suppliers, clients and competitors in the room all at once; it’s very special”.

At the event, FESPA president Nigel Davies announced the launch of the FESPA Australia Training Fund and introduced FESPA life members and trustees of The FESPA Training Fund, Bill Porteous and Trevor Cunningham, who collectively presented the fund with $94,000 of seed funding.

Porteous presented $59,928.98, representing the NSW region’s funds up until its amalgamation with the Federal body in 2017 while Cunningham presented $34,398.04 on behalf of the Glen Crerar scholarship fund.

“FESPA Australia is one of the oldest printing associations, and these funds were raised by generations of hardworking volunteers and generous sponsors of the screen printing industry. We are honoured to take the baton and work hard to apply and preserve these funds. By protecting those funds in our Constitution, we are ensuring that from now into the future, our association will have a laser-sharp focus on the training needs of our industry,” Davies said.

Durst Oceania managing director Matt Ashman, who was also in attendance, spoke about the recent Durst install.

“Cactus Imaging is a true leader and pioneer in the digital wide format space and it thrills me to see Keith Ferrel and Nigel Spicer again put themselves at the forefront with this investment,” he said.

“At Durst, we are confident the speed, quality and versatility of this hybrid press will aid Cactus Imaging in its future growth plans. I thank Keith and Nigel for having faith in Durst’s quality and ability to greatly assist in the ongoing success of Cactus Imaging.”

Below are some images from the recent event: